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Data Sources

We’ve all spent time trying to locate the proper source of data for our perfect Business Plan… Wouldn’t it be great if someone collected & curated appropriate Data Sources at a single place?

Well this is exactly what I’ll be attempting to do in this section of my blog! I’ll be gathering all the sources & relevant data sets that have been the result of substantial research conducted across my years on the job.

I have been fortunate enough to get involved in many fun & diverse projects, spanning a wide geography and several fun & exciting business verticals. This compendium of Data Sources is a collection I’ve come to rely on as a result of this journey. It will be including both clearly quantifiable metrics as well as more qualitative sources of information. It has been my experience that when the numbers don’t exist you need to at least have some plausible business assumptions to generate them with a hint of magic 😉

So without any further delays, here it goes :

Looking for key demographics, financial information and general metrics that capture the essence of a specific country?

The World Bank has an amazing data set which is free to download in well formatted excel files (CSV, Tabbed TXT & SDMX files are available also). You can start by browsing the data section or jump directly to the countries list and be just a few clicks away from decades of GDP, Inflation, Population, Internet Users and over 1000 data points. Depending on the country you get values as far back as 1960!!! And while you’re at it you might also want to check out their Research section. The User Interface and ease of use is unparalleled in my experience.

Yes the United Nations also maintains a substantial database. To a large extend this provides similar facts to the ones the World Bank, albeit in a more convoluted experience. You should jump in straight into their UN Data site and start digging deeper for what you need.

The Organization for Economic Collaboration & Development maintains it’s own set of data – obviously limited to its set of member countries. You can get hold of them at the statistics section of their site.

Looking for data regarding digital advertising spend?

IAB Europe publishes an annual report called the “Adex Benchmark” (published annually during the summer) containing information regarding annual digital advertising ad spend across Europe. The actual numbers have to be interpreted with a grain of salt (since they reflect budgets as reported by country IABs. In several cases these might be inflated due to the inclusion of YEBs and / or rebates. The reporting is not normalized across different countries) however it still depicts the key trends accurately and is the de facto standard used in the industry. In addition to the Adex several other interesting insights can be found and downloaded from the IAB Europe Research & Papers Page which includes an excellent search & filtering functionality, allowing you to quickly locate relevant material. For quick reference here are the links to past “Adex Benchmark” reports.

Looking for data regarding overall Internet Trends?

Whether you’re an Internet practitioner by trade, tech addict or just curious about what the next big thing, in the ever prevailing net of the World Wide Web, will be you can’t afford to miss this annual publication by venture capital firm KPCB. Even though it’s not structured in an easily digestible data consumption format, this concise report includes key metrics which you’re more or less guaranteed to need at some point! You can gain access to the latest one, as well as the library of past reports (since 2001) here.